Star-studded Bangalore hope to break barren streak

It is time for the gala event once again. As the nine teams go into the tournament with high hopes, a lot of attention will once again be on a team that has been consistently finishing at the top of the ladder, but has never gone on to win the coveted title even once in the history of the championship. For Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking that last step on the road to victory has been the major challenge. Twice finalists in 2009 and 2011, they also finished as the finalists of the Champions League in 2011. As talented as any other outfit, Bangalore will know that this year presents them one more opportunity to grab the title before the team takes an all new form ahead of next year's tournament.

Bangalore has been one team that has always learnt from past experiences. While the team was efficiently led by Daniel Vettori, it also meant that one of the four foreign slots was filled up, leaving Bangalore to bench some of their superior quality players. The team management has responded by naming Virat Kohli, the only survivor in the team right from the first season as the new captain. The 24 year old, already seen as a future Indian captain, will have to burden the additional responsibility of leading the team on the path of glory.

Anil Kumble, who successfully led the team and then mentored during the first five seasons, will be sorely missed by the team management. This means that the task of guiding the junior members of the team will fall on the shoulders of the coach as well as the captain.

STRENGTHS:

Recognizing that it was their bowling that let them down during crucial phases of past campaigns, the team management laid more emphasis on picking up talented all-rounders and Indian pace options during the auctions. The batting continues to remain their strength and the form of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be positive news for the team ahead of their campaign. With as many as 14 pacers at their disposal, the management has a host of options to come up with a balanced unit.

The addition of Murali Kartik, after a transfer from Pune, will give them a quality Indian spinner, something that the team sorely lacked ever since the retirement of Kumble. The team also added three new foreign all-rounders in their kitty, giving the team plenty of options in the middle order that lacked depth and quality.

WEAKNESSES:

One of the few teams that have filled up all their 33 slots, Bangalore will be hard pressed to arrive at the best possible combination. Death over bowling was the apparent weakness of this team and it looks like it will be an issue this time around as well as the team has not made any tangible efforts in solving the vexing problem.

Saurabh Tiwary continues to remain an enigma for this team. Having bought him at a whopping $ 1.6m during the 2011 auctions, the team management can't be faulted if they continue to pin their hopes on him.

STAR PLAYER

While all eyes will be fixed on Chris Gayle, the man who will control the destiny of this team will be AB de Villiers. The South Africa ODI captain, who will also double up as the wicket keeper, is in the form of his life and is currently the joint No. 1 ODI batsman of the world. Having been used as the game changer over the last season, it will be prudent if the team management makes the most of AB's current form with the bat. His keeping has come up leaps and bounds and he is now the regular keeper for South Africa across all formats of the game. A good season for the wicket keeper batsman will go a long way in realizing Bangalore's dream of finally winning the coveted trophy.

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT

Cheteshwar Pujara: Always assumed to be only a Test player, Pujara has come a long way in proving that he is adept at all forms of the game. An injury will keep him out of the initial phase of IPL 6 but he is expected to make a mark later on. Hailed as the future Rahul Dravid, Pujara enjoyed a terrific home run in the just concluded international season for India, plundering 1063 runs from 10 Test matches at an impressive average of 81.77. Bangalore will hope that the young Indian batsman will repay the franchise with an excellent show with the bat.

KEY PLAYER TIMELINES

AB de Villiers is expected to miss a couple of matches as he is under contract to play for his home based franchise, Nashua Titans in South Africa's T20 Challenge. Pujara is expected to be sidelined for the first 4 matches as he is recovering from an index finger injury sustained during the Australia series. Daniel Vettori has recovered from his injury and might be named in New Zealand's Test squad scheduled to tour England in mid May. The former skipper is expected to miss the final stages of the tournament.